The plan for this session was to focus on ‘the space between’. The sky was clear and the sun shining, so I wanted to check where the light was and how it affected both the trees and resulting images.
I arrived at the park at 10.15am and initially focused on the Tree Avenue, taking images from different perspectives and focal lengths. I had taken my 24mm-70mm zoom lens for this purpose.
While taking photos, I noticed there were certain viewpoints that reminded me of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. This is where the leaves from adjacent trees would reach and just about touch.
I then started to experiment with depth of field, focusing on the leaves in the foreground.
I then realised that the tree which had split and fallen during my last visit had been totally felled and sliced apart. This reminded me that things are always changing in this park and, if you spot it, shoot it.
In order to find a contrast with the Tree Avenue, I then went to the Woodland Gardens. This area of the park is split into two distinct areas, the Pheasantry Plantation and Water House Plantation. There is also a patch between these two areas with its own concentration of trees. Each of these areas has their own distinctive characters.
Pheasantry Plantation
The Space Between
Water House Plantation
While taking photos, I played with the focus.
While walking in the Water House Plantation, I contemplated the differences between this part of Bushy Park and the Tree Avenue. The majority of the gaps between trees were more chaotic and less organised in these gardens than the formal and evenly spaced avenue. As both are managed, could there be a particular reason for this? Something to research further.
At this stage of the project, I hadn’t had the time to view and analyse the results in great detail. What I did do, however, is the following Black & White conversion of one of the Tree Avenue images.
This conversion reminded me of, to a certain extent, and infrared shot.
When looking closer, I noticed a particular detail.
More to contemplate, more to explore.
Jennie Meadows MA Photography 